Search results for

Tours of the Sacred Valley, and the entire Cuzco area, often feature side trips through gorgeous landscapes like Moray, an archaeological site with remarkable concentric agricultural terraces. It’s believed the Incas used these terraces—on which temperatures vary 59 degrees Fahrenheit from the top tier to the bottom—as a way to acclimatize non-regional crops for highland cultivation. Even if you don’t find that fascinating, it’s hard not to appreciate the beauty of the spot, and given that this part of Peru is not so heavily visited, it’s a nice escape from the beaten path. The Boleto Turístico covers this admission.

Part of the North Shore mountain range, this 4,039-foot peak offers jaw-dropping views of the city. It’s busiest in the winter, when four chairlifts service 33 ski runs, but remains popular in the summer thanks to the steep, 1.8-mile Grouse Grind hiking trail. Those wishing to skip the sweat can ride the gondola to the summit—the ticket price includes access to lumberjack shows, the grizzly refuge, and guided eco-walks. Pay extra to zip-line, throw axes, or ascend Eye of the Wind, the world’s first and only wind turbine with a viewing pod. Afterward, hit one of the eateries like the self-service Lupins or The Observatory, which serves upscale West Coast cuisine.

A few minutes from the shops, galleries, and restaurants of Sedona, but tucked away along the banks of quiet-flowing Oak Creek, L’Auberge de Sedona is one of the Southwest’s most romantic hideaways. It has red-rock views, as every accommodation in Sedona must, but its French-country-inn style, in the land of adobe architecture, and its leafy, creekside location, are what define it. Through a series of chefs, its restaurant, Cress on Oak Creek, has maintained a stellar reputation, in no small part because of the romance of dining at a table that in some cases is practically in Oak Creek. And the spa, L’Apothecary, with at least one seasonally offered treatment requiring guests to wade in up to their ankles, draws much of its essence from the creek, too. Extensive renovations done in 2011 included the redesign of the 58 rooms and cottages, and the addition of 29 more, many with fireplaces, private decks, and—because romance matters—outdoor cedar-lined showers. Still there, and still popular, are the early morning duck feedings and the nighttime telescope sessions with a professional astronomer.

The imposing, white-domed wedding cake now known as Palacio de Bellas Artes was originally planned as a national theater, and construction was begun in 1904. The Mexican Revolution, among other things, postponed its completion until 1934, which explains the stark contrast between its creamy art nouveau exterior (note amazing iron- and stonework with local motifs like serpents) and its art-deco-inspired interior, finished in black and red marbles, and with walls that feature dazzling murals by Rivera, Siqueiros, and other postrevolutionary masters. Today the beloved edifice is home to a concert hall, exhibition areas given over to blockbuster shows, and Mexico’s National Architecture Museum; take an auditorium tour—or better yet, see a performance—to lay eyes on the theater’s magnificent Tiffany glass “curtain,” a mosaic formed (they say) by more than 1 million separate glass components.

A few years ago, Bósforo was a nondescript bar in the capital’s Centro Histórico (Historic Center) neighborhood. Its decor was nothing to write home about; in fact, it was so dark it was hard to make out whether there was any decor to speak of. Fast forward to today, and the dark, dull interior hasn’t changed. Nor has the bar’s focus: mezcal. The smokier cousin of tequila is an agave-based spirit that has grown exponentially in popularity over the past several years. Most of the bar’s offerings are small-batch mezcals in bottles with handwritten labels. What you try today may not be available at all the next time you visit. What has changed in the past year or two is Bósforo’s visibility. Once a bar that was really only for locals in the know, Bósforo is now visited by mezcal lovers from all over the world. If you’re a fan of the spirit—or you haven’t yet tried it and would like to—Bósforo is worth a night out in the Centro.

Atop Cap Diamant (Cape Diamond), at the city’s highest point, the Citadelle overlooks Old Québec, the St. Lawrence River, and the Plains of Abraham. There have been defensive structures here as early as the French period—in fact, the location of Québec City was chosen because Samuel de Champlain saw the strategic advantages that Cap Diamant offered. The fortifications you see today, however, date to the 19th century: They were built after a failed attempt by Americans to conquer Québec City during the War of 1812. Students of World War II history may be familiar with the Citadelle as the site of the Québec Conferences, when Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Canada‘s prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, met to plan their countries’ strategies during the war. The Citadelle is still an active military base; the museum inside is devoted to the 22nd Regiment, which makes its headquarters here.

It’s easy to miss Garza Marfa’s showroom on a brief visit, because it is located a few blocks off the beaten path. Usually open by appointment (call (432) 729-1946 or email [email protected]), and sometimes–in typical Marfa fashion–just randomly open, it is a space that is definitely worth checking out.

Jamey and Constance are the husband and wife team behind the vibrant furniture line; pillows, blankets and home wares. Their interpretation of ‘Midcentury Modern meets Wild West’ will put a smile on your face and probably make you wish you’d taken an empty truck to Marfa with you to fill up. Their colorful pieces can be hard to find outside of Marfa, except for a limited selection at the Heath Showrooms in San Francisco and LA.

>>>Warmest thanks to the awesome team at El Cosmico for another unforgettable Trans Pecos Festival of Music and Love–an annual gathering of friends, music, art, camping, sandlot baseball and a night sky full of stars in Marfa, Texas. Love you guys.

Spa lovers will enjoy spending a morning or afternoon getting acquainted with traditional Moroccan bathing and beauty treatments at a hammam. Traditionally, these public bathhouses and steam rooms were where both men and women would go for their weekly ablutions: to be first enveloped in olive oil–based soap infused with herbs, then exfoliated with a specially designed mitt, and finally slathered in a full-body clay mask mixed with rose water (hair washing optional). And while this is still an important part of the local culture, ultra-luxurious variations have crept in, especially at places such as the Royal Mansour, where you can bask in sensational interiors before forking out $350 for a hammam and massage fit for a king. The pool at La Mamounia’s glamorous hammam is one of the highlights, so allow plenty of time to make use of it before indulging in their luxury Evasion treatment, which includes an orange-infused olive oil scrub and amber-honey facial exfoliation for $130. If you want to try something a bit more local that still feels like a treat—at a fraction of the cost of the above—head for the Bains de Marrakech, which offers great value for what you get. A 45-minute hammam, including a ghassoul clay body wrap costs $24. Understandably, it gets extremely busy, so book ahead.

Guadeloupe’s most famous dive spot lies off the coast of Basse-Terre, surrounding the Pigeon Islands, and is part of the Guadeloupe National Park’s protected marine assets. Named after Captain Cousteau, who pushed for the protection of this biodiverse marine site and filmed a documentary here, you can find the French explorer’s statue resting in these waters. Dive shops offering excursions to the Jacques Cousteau Marine Reserve are based along Plage de la Malendure in the coastal community of Bouillante. There are dive options whether you’re a beginner or advanced. Snorkeling is also ideal for newbies here, with shallow waters teeming with coral, turtles, and tropical fish.

Salar de Uyuni, located in the Daniel Campos province of Bolivia, looks like it belongs on another planet. Stretching for more than 4,050 square miles—a little smaller than the state of Connecticut—it is the world’s largest salt flat, formed when several prehistoric lakes dried up 25,000 to 10,000 years ago, leaving behind hexagonal patterns of salt on the otherwise featureless surface. When nearby lakes overflow, or the area gets rain, a thin layer of water covers the expanse, transforming it into a massive reflective mirror that makes for jaw-dropping, dreamlike photos.


The natural wonder has served as a valuable source of salt and lithium for Bolivia, and it has long been a hot spot for tourism in South America. There’s even a hotel built out of salt bricks: the Palacio de Sal. If you’re planning a trip to witness the surreal beauty of the Salar de Uyuni salt flat, here’s what you need to know.



To see Salar de Uyuni’s breathtaking mirror effort, visit during wet season, from December to April—but be aware that when it gets too rainy, it can be hard to get around and you might not be able to access certain areas. May to November is the dry season, which means temperatures are colder, but the ground is harder and you can drive across the land more easily.



The ideal month to visit is May, when the seasons transition from wet to dry and you’ll have a good chance of seeing the salt flats both dusty and reflective.



Salar de Uyuni sits near the point where Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile meet, so tourists tend to come from three different starting places.



The town of Uyuni in Bolivia is the most popular place to embark on tours of the salt flats. The small town is so close to the flats, you can easily take day trips. If you’re traveling from La Paz to Uyuni, you can take a one-hour flight or an eight-hour overnight bus.



San Pedro de Atacama in Chile is another well-known starting point for tours of the salt flats, but because it’s about 200 miles away, most tours are three days long.



If you’re coming from Argentina, look into multi-day tours operating out of Tupiza, Bolivia, a good base less than 60 miles over the Argentinian border.



Tour operators in the region offer shared or private tours. Shared tours are more affordable, but they don’t offer much flexibility when it comes to your schedule. Also, most shared tours are led by Spanish-speaking guides, while private tours can offer English-speaking ones.



Many tours of the salt flats also go to other attractions in the area, such as the Polques hot springs, the Atacama Desert, and high-altitude lakes like Laguna Colorada. Look into tours originating in San Pedro de Atacama and Tupiza for itineraries that include these destinations.



Salar de Uyuni is located nearly 12,000 feet above sea level, so you might experience altitude sickness symptoms such as nausea and headaches and should plan accordingly.



To enter Bolivia, travelers must have a tourist visa, which costs $160 for U.S. citizens, and a yellow fever vaccination certificate if they are traveling from a country with risk of yellow fever.

Nothing is a more powerful symbol of the City of Light than the Eiffel Tower. Designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Paris Exposition, it’s one of the world’s most-visited monuments, with nearly 7 million people ascending the 1,062-foot wrought-iron structure each year. Glass elevators spirit you to the top—hardy souls can take the stairs part of way—where in addition to unparalleled panoramic views of Paris, you can toast your arrival with a glass of bubbly at the Champagne bar. Evenings there’s a grand light show: every hour on the hour, the tower sparkles for five minutes with 20,000 bulbs.

So you want to drive through a tree? Well, you’ve got options. (At least for now. Since no new drive-through trees will be created any time soon, for obvious environmental reasons, the existing ones are maybe the last of their kind.) There are actually three trees in the vicinity of Redwood National and State Parks whose trunks are wide enough to accommodate a car. The Chandelier Tree, at the Drive-Thru Tree Park, may be the most well-known and most frequently photographed; pay your $5 and get behind the wheel. The Tour Thru Tree, near Klamath, is the other tree with a human-constructed tunnel. The only organically occurring drive-through tree in the area is the Shrine Tree in Myers Flat, on Avenue of the Giants. The opening in this tree was primarily nature-created—though at this point it’s held together with some human help. Shrine also has a fallen tree with a drive-up ramp, a stump you can walk through, and a couple of playhouses carved from redwoods.

Forty miles from Zurich in the heart of central Switzerland, the Axenstrasse is a historic motorway that’s so achingly scenic it might even cure your vertigo. It winds for seven miles around the base of the Uri Alps hugging the verdant ridge of turquoise Lake Uri (a branch of the four-fingered Vierwaldstätter See—Four Forested Cantons Lake—more familiar to most tourists as Lake Lucerne). It occasionally careens through century-old mountain tunnels and past painted bell towers and Roman-era viaducts scattered around the region’s Alpine villages, where the legendary folk hero William Tell is supposed to have come from. There are numerous picnic areas along the older sections of the Axenstrasse, and the entire stretch of lake is swimmable in the summer. Hikers can find a variety of trails along the road that can take them to higher altitudes, where they can spot ibex, chamois, alpine orchids, purple gentian, and acrobatic alpine choughs, riding the thermals of the warm foehn winds, said by locals to cause madness.

Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s most impressive castles, particularly for its role in Scottish history—several kings and queens were crowned here, including Mary Queen of Scots. Tour the Great Hall, the lavish Royal Palace, the elegant Chapel Royal, and the Great Kitchens, then check out Argyll’s Lodging (Scotland’s finest 17th-century town house, built just beyond the castle walls for a great nobleman serving the royal court). Also worth exploring are the peaceful Queen Anne Gardens and the Stirling Heads Gallery, which features 16th-century oak medallions carved with images of royalty, Roman emperors, and characters from the Bible. When you’re done roaming the interiors, head outdoors and walk the ramparts to appreciate the castle’s commanding position above the Royal Burgh of Stirling.

For a small, cozy space, Osteria delle Belle Donne serves a very large bistecca fiorentina. This tiny restaurant, with stone walls and warm wood accents, is tucked on a narrow street between the Duomo and the train station. Beyond giant cuts of steak, other tasty highlights of Florentine cuisine are served here: fettuccine with wild-boar ragù, white beans, and seafood dishes. In the cooler months, traditional ribollita (a tomato-based vegetable stew thickened with bread) and budino marrone (chestnut pudding) appear on the menu. The wine list is Tuscan, too, so it’s easy to find pairings for the rustic meals.